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No ban on hijab in France, says diplomat

Karachi, June 13: There is no ban on wearing the hijab in France, but the niqab or burqa concealing the identity of the wearer is banned in the secular state, said Christian Ramage, the consul general of France in Karachi, while delivering a lecture titled ‘Religions in the secular republic of France’ at the Alliance Francaise on Thursday.

He said: “It (hijab) is banned inside schools because they are neutral areas, but people are free to wear them outside schools.” He, however, said that since 2011 the niqab or burqa was banned because it concealed the identity of the wearer.

Mr Ramage said Islam was the second largest religion in France and that France had the largest community of Muslims in Europe — protected and guaranteed of their freedoms by law — and were growing in numbers. He said: “There has been no official quantification of the religions in France…